Courage
by garnet eyes
Summary: Standing your ground in war is not the only way to show your true colors. Set before the original game.


Title: Courage

Author: Garnet Eyes

Archived: y-gallery. net, fanfiction. net

Summary: There's more to being courageous than holding your ground on a battlefield.

Rating: K

Pairings: None

Author Notes: I have not had the time to watch/play anything in the Final Fantasy VII universe beyond the original game and Advent Children. Therefore, I am certain there are inconsistencies between my writing and newer games or movies.

Disclaimers: Final Fantasy VII is owned by Squaresoft and I in no way, shape, or form profit off of my writing. This is simply for my own pleasure, and may at any time be removed and/or modified as I see fit.

...

This cadet Strife was an enigma. Sephiroth still could not understand how he had done it. Zackary had never been so well behaved in all the time the General had known him. Certainly the young SOLDIER was still exceedingly upbeat and had a predisposition for pranking anyone he could; however, he was notably more subdued then before. Or perhaps that was not the proper word. Zackary had been reigned in. It was an impressive feat – one that still eluded the silver warrior.

"Ready yet?"

Glancing at the energetic SOLDIER out of the corner of his eye, the General debated the wisdom of acknowledging his presence.

"Ready yet?"

Of course, the brunette would continue until he got a response.

"The more you distract me from finishing this report, the longer it will take for me to 'be ready,' as you say."

Sapphire eyes widened before the SOLDIER turned away to attempt to occupy himself. Predictably, he started doing squats to burn some excess energy. Also predictably, the brunette got bored quickly. Fortunately, the older SOLDIER was a fast reader and had already finished his current document by the time sapphire eyes returned to his face. Forestalling the parroted question, Sephiroth stood from his desk chair and picked up Masamune from her stand.

"These cadets are the ones selected for the special program and will be sponsored by SOLDIERs, correct?"

Nodding vigorously, the brunette preceded the silver warrior out of the office as he spoke.

"All of them were nominated by different people for different reasons. They're already good at something but with sponsors and training their weaker areas won't be as noticeable. You looked at the report, right? The lot of them look like they cover every field of military importance. It'll be interesting to see how the program works."

Although he remained half aware of everything else that the younger warrior said, the General attempted to recall the names and faces from the report he had read weeks ago. The specialties he was not as concerned about, seeing how unlikely it was that he would mentor. Most of the names and faces he could recollect during the walk down to the west SOLDIER gymnasium were bland and uninteresting. He wouldn't write off their use in combat down the line, but he had little hope for their behavior when he would enter the room this time.

All of the SOLDIER firsts stationed in Midgar were loitering outside the gymnasium, some murmuring about the soldiers inside while others conversed on irrelevant topics. A hush fell as the General strode onto the premise, his imposing figure having a lingering effect even on the ones who had served with him the longest. Ever cheerful, Zackary did not even let the silence fully descend.

"So, let's meet our super-special SOLDIERs-in-training. I get dibs on the coolest one."

That earned a few quiet chuckles before, stern-faced, the SOLDIER firsts filed into the gymnasium and stood in perfect formation before the line of recruits. Fair and Sephiroth were the last to enter, the former subduing the so called "terror inducing" aura that the General emanated. The shock and awe in every face was expected but nevertheless disheartening. The silver warrior had just about completely written off every cadet during the speech he had memorized until he noticed a gap in the line of heads. Further examination found a short, messy-haired blonde listening attentively to his words with an expression of sheer determination on his young features. No where in those bright, sky-colored eyes was hero worship or the ever popular fear.

Intrigued as he was, Sephiroth kept his eyes moving down the line as he spoke, giving equal attention to all of the cadets. After the introductory task, he allowed Zackary to rattle off the sparring assignments that would enable firsts to judge personal combat skill as jade eyes surreptitiously found the tiny soldier again. It was unnecessary for him to listen when he was already fully aware of the outline of events: first spars, after which would come the introductions of specific specializations and weaknesses by each cadet, the firsts would then introduce themselves and their specialties, and finally the SOLDIERs would be free to mingle and choose if and who they would mentor. The General watched each spar, disappointed in all of the nervous energy surrounding the soldiers. They would have far more pressure when they became SOLDIERs. More disappointing to the silver warrior, however, was how quickly the petite blonde's spar ended. His partner had been too tense with nerves to perform well; the blonde was one of a select few whose energy was spiked with excitement and desire to win, showing no outward signs of nervousness – not even the acrid taint of fear that a SOLDIER could so easily smell.

Recitation of skills and flaws were of obvious interest, simply to see which recruits skimped on their bad points. All of the firsts had the paperwork and could look up the truth in any statement. Surprisingly, the blonde was far more critical of himself than the basic overview that the reports gave. That self-criticism was exactly what introduced the soldier informally to the General when Zackary spoke up with one of his winning smiles bright on his features.

"You wouldn't be here if your instructors didn't think you could do well, Cloudy."

Sharp jade eyes focused on the blonde teen with a new kind of silent respect. So this was cadet Strife. Zack had never described him physically, but the mental strength was obvious to be able to contain one as rowdy as Fair. The short male was suddenly far more interesting than the General had first perceived. After introductions on both sides, the firsts and trainees mingled, those of like interest gravitating to one another. No one dared approach the General, as expected, although Sephiroth hardly noticed as he debated over speaking with the little blonde. Belatedly, the silver warrior realized that he might've saved himself the trouble: Zackary had raved about "this quiet kid who'd make Tseng look like a frightened mu" for so long it wasn't feasible that he would let the two of them be in the same room without introducing them.

It was therefore only mildly unexpected when Zackary practically thrust the small teen into the silver warrior's face.

"Sephiroth, this is Cloud! I'm mentoring him."

The brunette proceeded to turn to the rest of the room and pick the blonde up over his head.

"Hear that? This one's mine! I saw you eyeing him, Kurway! I don't share!"

Laughter erupted among the firsts, shared to a lesser extent by the cadets, and Sephiroth felt momentary pity for the blonde.

"Zack, I'm not a trophy."

The boy was calm and collected, even in such a ridiculous position, and the brunette hastened to stand him on his own two feet.

"I have to stake my claim early. Only so many SOLDIERs can mentor a single cadet, you know. If I didn't, you'd be picked up for sure."

A fine blonde brow rose, humor and the undercurrent of what the General likened to playful mocking in the teen's voice.

"With how you act normally, I'd be surprised if there was any SOLDIER left on the Planet who _didn't_ know you intended to mentor me."

It was then that clear azure turned up to lock eyes with the silver warrior. Internally startled by the gesture, when many SOLDIER thirds still couldn't manage that, the older male calmly held the gaze.

"Cadet Strife."

His voice was a low rumble, quiet as the SOLDIER had learned early on that his normal volume startled and frightened most. Blonde brows briefly drew together before subtly smoothing out.

"I won't run."

Cat eyes blinked, not quite certain what to make of that statement.

"Your voice isn't scary."

Nearly flabbergasted by the comment, the SOLDIER crossed his arms over his chest and nodded his head at the blonde, purposefully raising his voice to normal conversational levels.

"You are quite perceptive, cadet."

Shrugging in obvious dismissal of the compliment, the boy continued to watch him with those clear, earnest eyes.

"Have you ever read Edda?"

Unable to follow the logic jump, Sephiroth answered honestly and momentarily wondered why Zackary was so silent.

"I have not."

A slight frown marred young features, but those blue eyes never released him.

"That's unfortunate. You remind me of Sigurd."

Blinking once, the silver warrior raised a brow in question. Beside the small soldier, Zackary snorted.

"What's that one mean? 'Badass?'"

Pale eyes turned to sapphires as the blonde quirked his lips in amusement.

"Still bitter, Alf?"

His own lips quirking in response, the brunette brought his hand down and ruffled young Strife's already messy hair. The boy ignored the gesture, or at the very least did not react to it.

"I am not a pansy, damn it."

The comment held no heat and a small hand reached up to lightly tap tan knuckles against the SOLDIER's chest.

"For the last time, he is a king and a warrior. Just because you don't think it sounds manly doesn't mean that it automatically stands for something feminine."

Azure eyes returned to passive jade before the boy nodded in his direction and spoke.

"Guardian."

Silver brows drew together in subtle surprise. Strife was very forward.

"And how did you draw such a conclusion, cadet?"

Those bright eyes held his own, no hesitation in his response.

"You help to protect against monster attacks. I saw you once, out with a platoon thinning out the wolf population that had overrun the plains between Cosmo Canyon and Nibelheim. You watched out for your soldiers just as much as you went after the attacking hounds. Not everyone would be willing to risk taking injury in place of another."

Lips turned down as the older male listened. He had been on many deployments to raze Mako monster populations and more than once had been out to cull the wolves in that area. With his senses, he would have been aware of a child close enough to observe simply because of the risk of injury or even death that could fall on an unarmed, untrained individual.

"I do not recall ever seeing you before. You are from Nibelheim, I trust."

The blonde did not appear in the least surprised by his comment.

"Yes. There was a cluster of Nibel berry bushes I had been picking. Njord was with me and it's rare for Nibel wolves to attack each other no matter how bad their Mako poisoning."

Which implied that Njord was a wolf. Interesting and peculiar; if Sephiroth recalled correctly, locals were not fond of the nearby wildlife.

"How did you gain yourself a wolf companion, if I may inquire?"

Azure eyes blinked; the blonde obviously had not predicted that the General would care enough to inquire further.

"When he was a pup I found him trying to fend off some kyuvilduns, so I helped out."

Jade eyes widened; Sephiroth was positive that he would never again be so astounded in his life.

"The hell, Spike? Those things are dangerous! You could've gotten killed!"

Dismissing the worry with surprising nonchalance, the teen scratched his cheek.

"So could Njord. I found his littermates not too far away. Or what was left of them, anyway. All of them had been killed and no pack leaves pups unprotected. He wanted to survive; I wanted to give him a chance."

It seemed Zackary was rendered completely speechless with those simple statements. The silver warrior held pale eyes keenly as he considered the information he had been given.

"Would you behave the same way being put in charge of a unit, though?"

Tan lips turned down as the teen once again responded without hesitance.

"Until it happens, I don't really know how I'll handle anything."

Keeping his expression neutral, the SOLDIER continued his current vein of thought.

"So you do not consider what needs to be done before a situation arises. I can see how you and Zackary might get along."

Blonde brows furrowed as a true frown settled on boyish features.

"Don't misinterpret."

Silver brows rose, more than mildly impressed that young Strife had the courage to speak that statement alone.

"I never said I don't think. I said I don't _know_ how I would react. It never occurred to me to wonder what I would do if I saw a pup fighting off some kyuvilduns. I did what I thought had to be done. If I ever end up leading a group of people, I know I want to try to take care of them, but that doesn't mean that I know what I'd _do_."

With a slight inclination of his head, the silver warrior acceded the point.

"Very well."

It was no surprise that such a small form could control the always hyper SOLDIER if he was so absolutely fearless all of the time. The silver warrior did not think he had ever received this type of reaction to his presence before. Not even Zackary had been so completely guileless the first time they had spoken.

"Perhaps I may see for myself one day what you are capable of. In the meantime, we might benefit from one another, Strife."

Sapphire eyes blinked as if just coming out of a stupor then, glancing between the General and the cadet as if seeing both for the first time. Unexpectedly, the brunette did not actually speak up. That became less bewildering as Sephiroth detected a teasing note in Strife's voice as he responded.

"I seem to recall Zack saying something about not sharing."

It was so wholly unexpected that the SOLDIER elite could not help but chuckle. It was not going to be easy to classify the little blonde, given the glimpse of his nature that Sephiroth had received.

Straight-faced and monotone, the General replied blandly.

"Zackary will learn to share. Or he may find himself with an unfortunate schedule of toilet-cleaning detail for a few months until he learns better."

The blonde's laugh was clear and gentle, happiness as apparent in the sound as in Strife's expression. Sephiroth rather liked it. Fair turned an accusing finger at the older SOLDIER, a pout already forming on his lips.

"Why me? You're never this mean to anyone else. I won't survive cleaning those swamp holes!"

Sparkling azure eyes glanced over toward the brunette before nodding toward the silver warrior respectfully.

"I'll remember that, sir."

Feeling a genuine smile tugging at his lips, the SOLDIER canted his head.

"Call me Sephiroth, Strife. We will be working together often."

A glimmer of mischief entered boyish features as the teen responded.

"Of course, sir. As soon as you feel you don't have to be so formal with me."

Cunning. For some reason, the silver warrior suddenly remembered something that Professor Gast had often said: "Great things come in small packages." While he couldn't have known about the cadet, this was a grand example of proven wisdom.

"I shall keep that in mind, Cloud."

Before any more could be exchanged between them, the brunette SOLDIER launched himself on top of the short blonde, slinging muscled arms around a slender neck.

"Congrats, Spike."

Anything further that the younger SOLDIER said was ignored as the General suddenly became intensely aware of how many eyes were focused on the three of them. It was second nature to ignore those looks of simple-minded awe, but this was different: they were staring because the tiny soldier left with him had not only conversed with the feared Silver General without fainting dead on the spot, but had found something in the conversation humorous enough to _laugh_. The SOLDIER wondered if he should bother being offended. Then again, Sephiroth knew he was not the most sociable individual.

Giving his audience a glower for good measure, the silver warrior returned his attention to the two men at his side.

"– and that's how to use a rubber sheep to get out of kitchen duty. Ingenious, isn't it? I'm glad I thought of it. Potato peeling _sucked_."

Although he remained quiet, the SOLDIER elite couldn't help mild curiosity about how such a topic came up in such a short amount of time.

"Alright. I just want to ask about one thing, though: how does any of that answer my question about my duties in this program?"

Not the least perturbed, the brunette immediately spoke up, taking on a snobbish tilt to his head as was his custom when poking fun at the professors.

"I beg to differ! Quick thinking gets you out of a mess of trouble; if you don't want to do something, convince me you shouldn't have to."

Sighing, the silver warrior finally changed his position and dropped his arms to his sides.

"As… unique as his approach is, Zackary is correct. The skills necessary to trick an elite are useful and need to be learned. We will have to discuss methodology more, seeing as how I do not believe you should shirk duties because you dislike them. We cannot always do the tasks we wish to do and being able to accept the undesirable jobs is important."

With a miniscule frown, the blonde nodded.

"I'll assume you're both being evasive on purpose."

Smirking, the silver warrior shook his head.

"Not exactly. Since the program is so new and there are so many different skill sets involved, it is the prerogative of the mentoring SOLDIERs to develop the best system. This will take some time as we decide what to focus the most on."

Sapphire eyes squinted in mirth as the brunette smiled brightly.

"You know, I know you already said it to him, but I could've sworn you were going to stubbornly refuse to mentor anyone."

Snorting, a rather uncouth sound when he thought about it, the General glanced toward the door.

"I can hardly imagine how you gain your perceptions."

The blonde made a soft sound, almost as though he was stifling a laugh, before coughing subtly into his hand.

"Should I take notes?"

Recognizing that the cadet was referring to the current conversation, Sephiroth allowed himself a half smile as Zackary replied.

"Brat."

Cloud was certainly very different from anything Sephiroth might've predicted. He was still no less of an enigma, but rather even more intriguing than before. The silver warrior looked forward to future encounters. Perhaps he may even learn the blonde's secret to keeping Zackary from becoming overwhelming.


End file.
